Ken Dixon: ‘They only get one chance to be kids’

By Ken Dixon

Published
5:00 am EDT, Sunday, May 3, 2020

Dunta Jones, 19, puts up a shot while playing basketball at Moody Park Monday, Oct. 17, 2011, in Houston.
Jones said he plays at the park every so often. Jones said he and two others were taking advantage of the cooler temperatures.
( Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle ) less

Dunta Jones, 19, puts up a shot while playing basketball at Moody Park Monday, Oct. 17, 2011, in Houston.
Jones said he plays at the park every so often. Jones said he and two others were taking advantage of ... more

Photo: Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle

Photo: Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle

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Dunta Jones, 19, puts up a shot while playing basketball at Moody Park Monday, Oct. 17, 2011, in Houston.
Jones said he plays at the park every so often. Jones said he and two others were taking advantage of the cooler temperatures.
( Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle ) less

Dunta Jones, 19, puts up a shot while playing basketball at Moody Park Monday, Oct. 17, 2011, in Houston.
Jones said he plays at the park every so often. Jones said he and two others were taking advantage of ... more

Photo: Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle

Ken Dixon: ‘They only get one chance to be kids’

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The first wave of this pandemic, which has already destroyed Connecticut families by the thousands, is going to end.

School will soon go into its seasonal hiatus and there will be some kind of summer. The long-distance learning set up over a few hectic days in March and honed over the last six weeks by dedicated teachers, will go into sleep mode, like a warm computer.

This is a perfect time for parents to realize that what their overscheduled children may need is less structure and more fun; that they should be left to be kids rather than some kind of hijacked reflection of their parents’ socio-economic status.

Take a breath now and ask yourselves a few questions.

First, are you buying into the notion that your kid is going to win a college scholarship in some kind of pay back for the thousands of dollars you may be hemorrhaging for travel teams, special training and weekend-long, out-of-state tournaments?

Do you really think your 10-year-old is going to be in the 1 or 2 percent who will go on to play Division I, II, or III college athletics?

What makes you sure they won’t burn out by 12 and get turned off organized athletics forever?

Do you bask in the reflected glory of your youngster’s athletic accomplishments? Are they playing for themselves, or you?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, it’s time to take stock, step back and let up on the pressure. Look out ahead 10 years and ask yourself, are your kids having fun?

Children are resilient, but they only get one chance to be kids. Their experiences now, in school, at home and out in the world with their peers, are going to turn them into we will need: smart, caring, thoughtful, out-going, kind, and yes, athletic adults.

And time is so short for them to be young.

The $18-billion youth sports industry wants part of the federal disaster-relief support. Of course, the various public and private entities employ people who can impart some expertise on how to hit a baseball or tennis ball, pass a soccer ball, perform gymnastics, or drop-step a basketball dribble.

You might need to go back to the future, of a simpler time when kids took a ball, by themselves and for themselves, up to the neighborhood park and ran around, with no adults in sight, until some appointed dinner time.

At this point, with social distancing restrictions, it’s highly unlikely that there will be any organized sports for a few months or more.

If you want to do something for them, make sure there’s basketball net somewhere close, like your driveway if you’re lucky enough to have one. Find a flat wall where they can hit a tennis ball, kick a soccer ball or practice hockey and lacrosse stick handling and shooting.

Finally, join them. Throw the baseball, play some HORSE, find a patch of grass and kick the ball with them. They will remember the moment forever. And that’s a long time.